Published 1:00 am, Monday, December 13, 2004

Although some of these events have been grossly exaggerated, the many failures of people of faith - any faith - should be studied to learn how to avoid the same problems in the future.

However, in the name of fairness, I think some historical perspective is in order.

Religion, in some sense, has been known throughout history and by all cultures. Until the American and French revolutions, there weren't any nations that weren't dominated or at least heavily influenced by religion.

Even ancient Rome, which tolerated many sects, wasn't purely secular in governing. Since the word "performance" implies some sort of comparison, we need to ask to whom the religiously dominated nations are being compared?

Is it fair to compare them to modern nations? When we have criticisms of religious nations from history, we also have to give them credit for all the positive developments in human society until the modern age.

If you criticize medieval Christendom for the Crusades, it is only fair to laud it for, among other things, the first hospital (church-run medieval hospitals took care of the poor and homeless, too) and the printing press.

Atheistic philosophies and governments have also had a cruel and bloody history; we only have to look at the 20th century for examples.

The eugenics movement, which sought a "better" human race through selective breeding and population control, resulted in forced sterilization in many nations (including the U.S.) and had a horrible climax in the Nazi concentration camps.

Marxism's expression in communist governments has almost always been abusive and repressive; in Stalin's purges, millions died.